Scabbard



Feb. 9, 1943. E. L. BEcKwn-H Erm. 2,310,204.

SCABBARD Fle'd Seibt. 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 da.; awfw fw 2 )f y,govney@ Patented Feb. 9, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT' (iF-FICE.

SCABBARD Application September 13, 1940, Serial-No. 356,638

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to scabbards for bayonets or the like andconsists in an improved metal fitting for the open end of the scabbardand an improved joint construction whereby the fitting is secured to thebody of the scabbard.

Heretofore scabbard fittings have been milled or otherwise machined fromsolid steel forgings, an operation requiring a great amount of time andskill on the part of the machinist as well as the employment ofexpensive machine tools. Moreover, a high percentage of waste hasresulted on account of flaws in the forgings uncovered in the machiningoperations.V

The object of the present invention is to provide a bayonet ttingcomprising essentially sheet steel parts which may be punched and formedat a high rate of speed with the greatest accuracy and uniformity ofquality from selected sheet steel. The ttng of' our invention comprisesa plurality of suchsheet steel blanks, all of simple shape which l'endthemselves to high speed punching and which may be easily formed in diesby bending, and then crimped or swaged and spot-welded in a rigidassembly. Included with the principal sheet metal parts of the fittingare hooks which may be of high grade toolA steel. These are small inthemselves and can also be produced at high speed from strip stock ofsmall dimensions and are permanently and securely incorporated into thetting as rigidly and securelyas if they were an integral part of thesame.

In general we have succeeded in designing a scabbard tting' for highspeed production on a mill basis as distinguished from the priorproduction of what amounts to. hand-Wrought littings considered anecessity heretofore. We have, moreover, made this quantity productionpossible without in any way sacrificing the necessary strength ofthetting or otherwise impairing its` eiciency and reliability in the mostexacting conditions of use.

These and other features of the invention will Figs. 4 and 5r arecorresponding views of the outside plate,

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the two plates brought together withthe hooks preparatory to the assembling operation,

Fig. 7 is a View in longitudinal section through the fitting and theopen end of the scabbard, on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 8 is a similar viewV in side elevation,

Fig. 9 is a View in cross section on the line 9---9v of Fig. 7, and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary View in cross section on the line Ill-lll ofFig. 7.

For purposes of illustration the fitting of our invention is disclosedin its adaptation to such a scabbard as that shown in our priorapplication Ser. No. 312,192 filed January 3, 1940*. The body of thatscabbard comprises a water-proof sheath l0 of thermoplasticl materialmolded to shape and including plies of canvas or other tough textilefabric to give the scabbard high tensile strength and toughness. Theside faces of the scabbard are flat terminating in rounded.

shoulders which merge into integral longitudinal edge ribs Il. The bodyof the scabbard as shown in Fig. 7 includes a plastic insert in the formof a hanged collar i2'. This is inserted within the scabbard after themolding operation and is hanged outwardly over the outer end of thescabbard and beneath the' top plate of the fitting as will be presentlydescribed.

The fitting itself comprises three members which are stamped as fiatblanks out of sheet steel, two hooks shaped from bar stock of tool steelor the like, andy a wire loop which is yformed readily from a steel wireblank.

The top plate I3 of the fitting may be stamped out of mild sheet steelabout e inch in thickness or thereabouts. The plate is generallyrectangularin contour with rounded corners and rearwardly extending earsi4 which are bent upwardly and forwardly to form bearings for the wireloop f5 by which the scabbard is attached to the belt of the user. Thetop plate is. provided with an elongated slot Ifo to receive the bladeof the bayonet and with square apertures to receive the hooks l1, onelocatedl adjacent to each end of the slot i5.

Beneath the top plate i3 of the fitting is a sleeve portion whichincludes an inner plate 20 originally stamped out of mild sheet steelabout .03 inch in thickness or thereabouts in substantially the shape ofthe blank shown in Fig. 2. The blank is generally rectangular having tworight angle shoulders or steps in its side edges upwardly projectingintermediate portion 24 in the body of the plate.

The outer plate 43 may similarly be formedf from a generally rectangularat bank of sheet steel as shown in Fig. 4 and again this blank ispreliminarily shaped by having its side portions 4I bent forwardly intoparallel relation but with slightly wider spacing than the correspondingwings of the inner plate. Shoulders in the side walls dene a projectingcentral portion 42 in the body of the plate and a tongue 113 projectsdownwardly from each of its side walls.

The hooks I'I, which in the finished scabbard make detachable connectionwith a catch on the bayonet itself, are swaged from straight bar stockof substantially square or half-round cross section and each is formedwith an outwardly offset notched head providing an outwardly projectingshoulder under its head and an outwardly projecting shoulder in theinner wall of the body of the hook as shown in Fig. '7.

The inner and outer plates are assembled to make the sleeve portion ofthe tting, together with the hooks II which are located as suggested inFig. 6, that is to say, the side walls of the outer plate 40 embrace oroverlap the side walls of the inner plate and the hooks I'I rest attheir lower ends upon the shoulders 22 of the wings 2| of the innerplate. Moreover, the outwardly projecting shoulders of the hooksthemselves rest upon the upper edge of the side walls 4I of the outerplate 40 because the length of each hook below its shoulder correspondsexactly to the length of the second step in the edge of the inner plate.At the inner sides of the posts the shoulders are caught beneath the topplate I3. y

YHaving assembled the parts loosely in this relation they are forcedtogether by suitable swaging dies and their side walls crimped upon eachother and upon the bodies or shanks of the hooks I'I. The wings 2I ofthe inner plate are rolled into a rib of substantially semi-circularcross section as shown in Fig. 10 so that the shoulder 22 is fullyeiective to support the end of one of the hooks I1. Above the shoulder22 the side wallof the inner plate passes inside the shank of the hooksI1, as shown in Fig. 9. The side walls of the outer plate are formedinto longitudinal ribs also substantially semi-circular in crosssection. These ribs in their upper part enclose the hooks Il and intheir lower part conform exactly to the smaller ribs formed in the innerplate as shown in Fig. 10. In this operation the tongues 23 and 43 ofthe two plates are brought into substantial superposed relation. Theprojecting portions 24 and 42 of the inner and outer plates respectivelyare flanged outwardly in a common plane as best shown in Fig. 8 tounderlie the top plate and the parts of the fitting are positivelysecured in the relationship thus established by spot welding theseoutturned flanges of the inner and outer plates to the under face of thetop plate I3. It will be seen that the top plate I3 overlies theinwardly projecting shoulders of the hooks I'I, and, accordingly, whenthe top plate is welded in place on the sleeve formed by the plates 20and 40 the hooks are rigidly and permanently interlocked in the iittingagainst all possibility of being withdrawn.

The complete fitting is now assembled upon the scabbard and for thispurpose the longitudinal ribs II of the scabbard are cut away at theupper end of the scabbard for a distance sufiicient to clear theenclosed shank of the hook I1 and the side wall of the inner plate 20which lies inside the shank. The shank and this inner wall form ineiect, an obstruction to the open channel formed in the lower part ofthe sleeve of the fitting which is shaped to receive the rib II of thescabbard. The ribs of the scabbard thus nt into the lower part of thesleeve up to the lower ends of the hooks. Square shouldered notches arecut in the ribs at a distance lower down the scabbard corresponding tothe length of the wings 2I of the inner plate or on a line correspondingto the lower edge of the sleeve. The tting is nally secured in place bybending inwardly the superposed tongues 23 and 43 into each of thesenotches forming a double-ply hook as shown in Fig. 7 and in this mannera very strong union is eiected between the tting and the scabbard allwithout the formation of projecting angles or corners which might catchand disturb the connection in use.

It will be understood that the employment of the anged collar I2 isoptional and that where this is used the dimensions given include thethickness of the flange of this insert, but if the insert is not usedthe top plate I3 would t dlrectly against the end of the scabbard.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail oneembodiment thereof for ,purposes of illustration, but with no intentionof limiting the invention thereto, we claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A scabbard having a longitudinally ribbed body of plastic material,in combination with a metal tting comprising an apertured top plate anda sleeve portion attached thereto, the said sleeve portion including inits structure inner and outer sheet steel walls overlapping and rolledtogether and providing internal channels of predetermined length beneaththe top plate interrupted by shoulders in the said walls, hook postsfitting in said channels, having shoulders beneath the top plate andbeing of such length as to rest on the shoulders in the said walls, and

overlapping tongues projecting into the body ofthe scabbard inoverlapping relation from the lower edges of the said walls.

2. A scabbard tting comprising a top plate i having a bayonet receivingopening therein, an inner plate of concave shape having a projectingshoulder at each side, an outer plate also of concave shape with itsedges overlapping and spaced r in part from the edges of the innerplate, and hook posts enclosed in the space between the edges of theinner and outer plates, supported upon said shoulders and projectingthrough the top plate, the inner and outer plates being per manentlysecured to said top plate and the hooks having an interlockingconnection with the top plate positively preventing their withdrawal.-

3. A scabbard fitting comprising a permanent assembly of sheet steelparts including a top plate having a bayonet receiving opening therein,an inner plate of concave shape transversely ilanged at its upper edge,an outer plate also ofconcave shape with its edges overlapping andspaced in part from the edges of the inner plate and also transverselyflanged at its upper edge, and hook posts enclosed in the space betweenthe edge portions of the inner and outer plates and projecting above thetop plate, the flanges of the said inner` and outer plates being securedto the under face oi said top plate and their longitudinal edges beingcrimped upon the bodies oi the hooks thus holding the hooks in place.

4. A scabbard fitting comprising a top plate having an opening therein,and a sleeveprojecting at right angles to the top plate, the sleevecomprising two sheet metal plates with their side edges overlapping andcrimped together and their top edges flanged outwardly and welded to theunder surface of the top plate, and hook posts projecting at their upperends above the top plate, having their lower portions enclosed in spacesformed adjacent to the overlapping edges of said plates, and havingtransversely projecting shoulders positively engaged beneath the topplate.

5. A scabbard tt-ing comprising a top plate having an opening andhook-receiving apertures therein, and a sleeve secured to the top plateand projecting at right angles thereto, the sleeve comprising two sheetmetal plates with side walls curved and overlapping in such manner as topresent an external rib and an internal channel.

and hooks enclosed in the channel and projecting through the aperturesof the top plate, the edges of the said sheet metal plates being crimpedupon the bodies of the hooks and vthus holding them in place in thefitting.

6. A scabbard having a longitudinally ribbed in combination with afitting comprising a top plate located at the open end of the scalobardand having a sleeve portion with overlapping side walls of sheet metalshaped to provide longitudinal channels, hooks having downwardlyextending shanks occupying the upper portions ci said channels andprojecting through the top plate and interlocking therewith, the lowerpor'A tions of the channels being filled by the ribs of the scabbard,and the sleeve having tongues which are embedded in the said ribs.

7. A scabbard itting comprising a top plate having a bayonet receivingopening therein and also distinct small apertures, a sheet metal sleevesecured at one end to the top plate, being shaped to embrace the body ofthe scabbard and folded in each of its sides into an elongated chamber,and hook posts enclosed in said chambers, projecting up through theapertures of the top plate and shouldered to make interlockingengagement with the said top plate and with edges presented by parts ofthe sleeve.

EDWIN L. BECKWITH. CHARLES P. MACIVER.

